Spire Spring 2017

alumni

Seven other alumni helped kick off the weekend by participating in a Homecoming Ram-2-Ram Alumni Career Seminar, which featured former students sharing their advice with current students on how to prepare for life after college. The alumni – Zach Smith (’08), an attorney from Pearisburg, Virginia; Lauren Pillow (’13), a hazardous waste inspector from Lynchburg, Virginia; Jamie Parsell Null (’02), a freelance writer and executive director of the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau from Princeton, West Virginia; Lesley Gray Clark (’08), a high school counselor from Madison Heights, Virginia; Jennifer Mitchell (’08), an administrator for family ministry at Hope Church in Richmond, Virginia; Sara English Rutherford (’96), a senior consultant for Aon Hewitt in Winston- Salem, North Carolina; and Katie Warren Waugh (’11), a counselor at Forsyth Technical Community College in Statesville, North Carolina – spoke about the quality of their BC education, the value of internships, what they enjoy most and least about their work, challenges on the job, and Christianity in the workplace. Day one of Homecoming concluded with a women’s soccer match, a BC Theatre presentation of You Can’t Take It With You , and a pep rally, featuring games, cornhole, music, the introduction of the Rams football team, motivational speeches, and the first-ever Homecoming Scholarship Challenge in which students competed for scholarship dollars in a football throwing accuracy contest. This year’s Scholarship Challenge winner: Malik Barlow, a freshman football player from Columbus, Ohio. Day two of Homecoming 2016 began with the annual Alumni Association Meeting and the election of nine new alumni to the Association’s Board of Directors, including Sammy Poindexter (’86) of Dublin, Virginia; Sara English Rutherford (’96) of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Matt Moore (’13) of Max Meadows, Virginia; Rev. Brent Brown (’78) of Bluefield, West Virginia; Tim Mann (’88) of Greensboro, North Carolina; Robert Ratcliffe (’09) of Christiansburg, Virginia; Tom Childress (‘66) of Pocahontas, Virginia; Derek Kitts (’14) of Christiansburg, Virginia; and Courtney Robertson Tucker (’10) of Gretna, Virginia. The Alumni Association also recognized outgoing Board members Sharon Knick (’72) of Buena Vista, Virginia, and Isabel Agnew Lovitt (‘71) of Pilot, Virginia, along with Jennifer Mitchell (’08) of Richmond, Virginia, who completed her term as Board president. Day two of Homecoming weekend also included the traditional Scholarship Auction, a lively, entertaining affair that saw alumni bid on

Top: Golden Graduates (from left) Tom Childress (’66), Vicki Tinsley Haymes (’66), Doug Hawks (’57), Rev. Rod Hale (’60), Rev. Jack Marcom (’62), Fran Webb Louthan (’60), Dr. David Bailey (’60), Barbara Asbury Custalow (’61), Jim Jenkins (’60) and Farley Wolford (’54). Middle: Former Bluefield College students (back) share career advice with current BC students during the Homecoming Ram-2-Ram Alumni Career Seminar. Bottom: Student Malik Barlow (left), winner of the Homecoming Scholarship Challenge.

Right: Newly elected members of the BC Alumni Association Board of Directors: (from left) Sammy Poindexter (’86), Sara English Rutherford (’96), Matt Moore (’13), Rev. Brent Brown (’78), Tim Mann (’88), Robert Ratcliffe (’09), and Tom Childress (‘66). New Board members not pictured: Derek Kitts (’14) and Courtney Robertson Tucker (’10).

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